Neighborhood Anarchist Collectivehttps://neighborhoodanarchists.org
Fri, 18 Jan 2019 18:28:41 +0000en-UShourly1https://neighborhoodanarchists.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/cropped-nac-icon-32x32.pngNeighborhood Anarchist Collectivehttps://neighborhoodanarchists.org
3232Support the Share Fair! Solidarity with unhoused / working class communitieshttps://neighborhoodanarchists.org/support-the-share-fair-solidarity-with-unhoused-working-class-communities/
Wed, 12 Dec 2018 19:24:26 +0000https://neighborhoodanarchists.org/?p=1841As you probably know, the NAC Solidarity Share Fair works to provide free goods and services from local people, organizations and community groups to unhoused and working class members of the community. There is delicious food, live music, games, bike repair, and a chance to know other folks in the community – […]

]]>As you probably know, the NAC Solidarity Share Fair works to provide free goods and services from local people, organizations and community groups to unhoused and working class members of the community. There is delicious food, live music, games, bike repair, and a chance to know other folks in the community – and it’s all free!

Now that it’s rainy and cold we want to build capacity to help with the life needs of some of the most vulnerable people in the community. Tarps, tents, sleeping bags, back packs, socks, coats, blankets, and so many more items are needed!

Your donation will allow us to buy vitally needed warm clothes and supplies for people hit hardest by capitalism’s inequalities. We get everything used, discounted, and/or in bulk so a little goes a long way!

We’re also always looking for physical donations, volunteers, and more services! If you or a group/business/organization/charity would like to help in that way please contact us at sharefair@neighborhoodanarchists.org.

NAC believes anarchism is a political theory and organizing practice which seeks to dismantle patriarchy, white supremacy, capitalism, and authoritarianism, and works toward ecological sustainability, self-determination, solidarity, and cooperation. The Share Fair is one example of mutual aid and creating the world we want to see.

]]>The Mexican Repatriation Acthttps://neighborhoodanarchists.org/the-mexican-repatriation-act/
Sun, 18 Nov 2018 17:35:03 +0000https://neighborhoodanarchists.org/?p=1786At every full collective gathering we acknowledge that we live in a society founded on stolen land and stolen lives. Someone researches and presents a relevant topic and then we take a moment of silence to reflect. We share the research here for others as well. By Kim After Trump […]

]]>At every full collective gathering we acknowledge that we live in a society founded on stolen land and stolen lives. Someone researches and presents a relevant topic and then we take a moment of silence to reflect. We share the research here for others as well.

By Kim

After Trump recently made an announcement that he will seek an end to birthright citizenship through an executive order, many people took to social media to point out that Trump has no such power as birthright citizenship, which grants citizenship to those born on U.S. soil even if their parents are not citizens themselves, is protected by the 14th Amendment. What many people fail to realize is that, unsurprisingly, the United States has a racist history of deporting people with claims to birthright citizenship.

The Mexican Repatriation Act was a mass deportation of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans between 1929 and 1936. Although there were multiple waves of immigration before due to a number of factors, including the building of a railway system between Mexico and the Southwest U.S., increased demands for agricultural labor, and people fleeing from violence of the Mexican Civil War, as well as waves of deportation back to Mexico tied to economic downturns and anti-immigrant sentiments, immigration laws were not strictly enforced until the establishment of the U.S. Border Patrol in 1924. Many U.S. employers sought Mexican labor for jobs in industry, railroads, meatpacking, steel mills, and agriculture and encouraged emigration for their benefit, but because of the lax immigration laws before the mid-to-late 1920’s, many citizens, legal residents, and immigrants did not have official documentation to prove their citizenship or had lost their paperwork. A lot of them also did not apply for citizenship as they were well aware that Mexicans were considered “racially inferior” and knew they would not be socially accepted even with legal citizenship.

Even before the stock market crash, many Americans called for deportations due to “job competition and the burden and cost of public assistance.” Following the stock market crash of 1929, nationalist sentiments grew and President Hoover’s call for deportations led to a large number of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans being deported. Because records were not well-kept, an estimated number of 400,000 to 2 million people were “repatriated” between 1929 and 1937, with a peak of about 138,000 in 1931 and a total estimate of 1/3 of all Mexicans in the U.S. deported between 1931-1934. An estimated 60% of those deported were birthright citizens. The 1930 Census reported 1.3 million Mexicans in the US, but this number is believed to be unreliable as some deportations had already begun, immigrants without documentation were not counted, and the census attempted to use racial concepts that did not consider how Spanish-speakers in the Southwest defined their own identities.

The federal government worked with local governments to coordinate deportations through a combination of federal actions that created a climate of fear along with local activities that encouraged repatriation through a combination of “lure, persuasion, and coercion.” Some also sought to return to Mexico as they were usually the first ones to be laid off following the stock market crash and had to endure endemic harassment from growing national anti-immigrant hostility, while new employment laws made it difficult for non-citizens to get hired and made it easier for employers to discriminate against Mexicans and Latinx people in general.

There is a lot more that can be said about the reasons the U.S. used to justify these deportations, the scope of the impact this “unconstitutional” act had on immigrants simply searching for a better life, and the racism behind it all, but this serves as a harsh reminder that fascism and white supremacy has no consideration for legal boundaries beyond what helps to legitimize it as a government. The Trump regime has made it clear that it does not care for the technicalities and legalities behind its agenda and planned ethnic cleansing and our focus must be on the communities being targeted and affected. It’s a fight that cannot end until the most oppressed is liberated.

]]>Gender-variance around the worldhttps://neighborhoodanarchists.org/gender-variant-world-history/
Sun, 07 Oct 2018 16:02:11 +0000https://neighborhoodanarchists.org/?p=1592At every full collective gathering we acknowledge that we live in a society founded on stolen land and stolen lives. Someone researches and presents a relevant topic and then we take a moment of silence to reflect. We share the research here for others as well. As the transgender community […]

]]>At every full collective gathering we acknowledge that we live in a society founded on stolen land and stolen lives. Someone researches and presents a relevant topic and then we take a moment of silence to reflect. We share the research here for others as well.

As the transgender community continues to fight for civil rights in the u.s., some critics regard trans people as a symptom of the postmodern condition, of bored, rich, white-people that have been confused sexually by a socially liberal society. Many claim that the struggle for transgender rights is difficult because the concept is still new to many in the states and the world. But the reality is far more complex and diverse. Struggles for LGBTQ rights in the u.s., and the world, has had transgender and queer energy behind it since even before the 1960s when Marsha P. Johnson, a black trans woman, threw the first brick at the Stonewall Riots. That energy was also there before the white europeans came here to steal the land and the peoples’ his/herstories. Further understanding of the truths of these important members of our community will only help to inform the ongoing struggle for the liberation of gender-variant people everywhere.

Many reports and statistics note, the number of assaults on all LGBTQ, especially trans, femmes, and non-binaries are on the rise; and it is because of this, we must rally around and support trans lives and their plights. Common thought would have people believing that this is a normal xenophobic reaction to the rise of an unfamiliar and ‘degenerative’ identity, but that is not true. In fact, trans peoples and gender-variance has a long and proud history from people of all national origins, theological persuasions, and societal roles.

Two-Spirit (North America)

For an example of colonially stifled gender variance close to home, one needs look no further than the various gender identities recognized and celebrated in indigenous tribes.

Navajo tribes recognized four genders that roughly correlate with cisgender and transgender men and women, using the terms nadleehi for those who “transform” into femininity and dilbaa for those “transform” into masculinity. The Mohave people used the termsalyha and hwame to describe similar identities. And the Lakota tribe believed the wintke people among them had supernatural powers like India’s hijras.

The two-spirit community is experiencing a renaissance of activism lately, but this isn’t a recent phenomenon, strictly speaking. We’wha was a famous lhamana (i.e., two-spirit) member of the Zuni tribe. She may have been the first out-of-the-closet gender-variant person to meet a u.s. president when she was introduced to Grover Cleveland in 1886. Two-spirit people in north america have benefited from acceptance within their communities. Already they have reclaimed a piece of their identities by popularizing the term “two-spirit” in place of the french colonial term berdache.

Mahu

In traditional Hawaiian culture, creative expression of gender and sexuality was celebrated as an authentic part of the human experience. Throughout Hawaiian history, “mahu” appear as individuals who identify their gender between male and female. A mahu is an individual that straddles somewhere in the middle of the male and female binary. It does not define their sexual preference or gender expression because gender roles, gender expressions, and sexual relationships have all been severely influenced by the colonization. The change in understanding of Hina began with the arrival of christian missionaries in the 1800s and the imposition of western values on the Hawaiian community. They banned cultural expressions that celebrated diverse sexual views and traditions they believed to be profane, such as hula, and drove them underground. The suppression of traditional Hawaiian values and practices marked a turning point in Hawai‘i’s history, one in which mahu began a struggle to find acceptance. Similar struggles can also be found in other countries as well.

Hijras

With thousands of years of documented history, hijras are one of the oldest and best-known examples of gender variance. The word is a blanket term applied to people westerners might define as transgender, intersex, or eunuchs. Throughout history, hijras in southern asia have been associated with sacred powers. They deliver blessings at weddings and births and are feared for their powerful curses. The focus on their efforts for recognition and rights typically centers on india. That’s in part because british rule dramatically changed the lives of hijras there. The colonial government made the simple act of being a hijraa criminal offense. Hijras responded by forming their own tight-knit communities, and developing their own language.

In 2014, the supreme court of india followed precedents in nepal, pakistan, and bangladesh in recognizing hijras as a legally designated third gender. That decision helped people in india seeking legal recognition for their identities. Activists claim it doesn’t go far enough, though. Many hijras still find themselves resorting to begging or survival sex work to get by. In Indian politics, “hijra” is still used as a public insult.

Ancient History & Modern Struggles

These stories, while being a small fraction of non-binary representations in the world, offer up a simple lesson that is predominate in much of the precolonial peoples: There have been people from all over the world for thousands of years who find themselves on the outside of simple binaries. While it might be tempting to apply a label like “transgender” to all of these people, it’s important to respect their sovereignty in defining their own identities, and remember that European colonialism was a major force in hurting and erasing gender-variant people throughout his/herstory, and our current understanding is a representation of that. The variety of gender expressions and identities that have outlived the attacks of colonialists is a testament to the strength of resistance present in the oppressed. They prove that people have rejected the restrictive gender systems throughout history and in our modern age, as many of the examples demonstrate, these experiences have and do often exist outside of the binaries that social norms place on existence.

]]>Accessibility Surveyhttps://neighborhoodanarchists.org/blog-accessibility-survey
Sun, 30 Sep 2018 01:47:21 +0000https://neighborhoodanarchists.org/?p=1521We want to make sure involvement in NAC is as accessible as possible so we’ve made a survey to collect feedback. Please take a minute to let us know how you experience NAC, how we’re doing on accessibility, and where we could improve. We want to hear from everyone! Whether you’re really […]

]]>We want to make sure involvement in NAC is as accessible as possible so we’ve made a survey to collect feedback. Please take a minute to let us know how you experience NAC, how we’re doing on accessibility, and where we could improve.

We want to hear from everyone! Whether you’re really involved don’t attend many meetings (especially if you don’t attend meetings).

]]>Eugene Chapter of the Black Panther Partyhttps://neighborhoodanarchists.org/eugene-chapter-of-the-black-panther-party/
Sun, 02 Sep 2018 17:46:35 +0000https://neighborhoodanarchists.org/?p=1496At every full collective gathering we acknowledge that we live in a society founded on stolen land and stolen lives. Someone researches and presents a relevant topic and then we take a moment of silence to reflect. We share the research here for others as well. The Black Panther Party […]

]]>At every full collective gathering we acknowledge that we live in a society founded on stolen land and stolen lives. Someone researches and presents a relevant topic and then we take a moment of silence to reflect. We share the research here for others as well.

The Black Panther Party was one of the leading movements in the U.S. for the struggle of Black liberation, with armed community self-defense and community social programs at the core of its activities, and at its peak had offices in 68 cities, both in the U.S. and internationally. One of these cities is Eugene, Oregon.

In a primarily-white city, the Eugene chapter of the Black Panther Party grew out of the Black Student Union at the U of O, where black students dealt with the institutional racism of the university’s community and academia. Elmer and Aaron Dixon were two brothers who headed the Seattle chapter of the BPP that came down to help organize the Eugene chapter and left three Seattle members to help support its development.

At its height, the Eugene chapter had 18-20 members and 10-15 underground members, with its core members all coming from Compton, Los Angeles and brought to or influenced to move to Eugene by the chapter’s leadership, Howard and Tommy Anderson.

From the Eugene chapter, a few community survival projects emerged:

a) the Free Breakfast Program that served 20-30 children everyday

b) a Liberation School that focused on African and African American history while also unraveling some untrue accounts of Eurocentric history widely taught in Eurocentric academics/curriculum

c) and a Public Speaker Program that participated in demonstrations and rallies in Eugene, such as on racism, Vietnam, and other issues at the time. The speaker program also tried to educate the wider Eugene community about the goals and philosophy of the Black Panther Party.

The Eugene chapter also developed supportive relationships with other revolutionary organizations, including:

a) Patriot Party – a Euro-American organization that focused on poor whites

b) Brown Berets – headed by a small group of Chicanos from Los Angeles who organized resistance to the exploitation of the Chicano community in Eugene and other migrant farming communities in the surrounding areas. The Eugene Chapter was led by Ray Verdugo.

c) and Asian student organizers, such as Ellen Bepp and Sandra Muraoka, that focused on racism, stereotyping and other issues related to students of Asian descent.

It comes as no surprise that the Eugene chapter ran into confrontations with the Eugene Police Department in 1969. The Eugene Police attempted to enter the house of a party member, Oliver Patterson, but were met with armed resistance. When Howard and Tommy Anderson met with the police and Howard asked them to produce a warrant, the police were unable to do so and were forced to leave without making arrests. That same day, a warrant was issued for Howard and Tommy Anderson for “assault on police with deadly weapons and interfering with the Eugene Police.” All members of the BPP Eugene chapter showed up at the BPP Headquarters and decided not to give up the Anderson brothers without a fight to the death. With the Headquarters fortified and enough weapons to engage the Eugene Police in a short firefight, the BPP Eugene chapter was ready for an armed struggle, with armed white supporters outside in strategic positions and the support of many UO students protesting police outside.

However, before such a fight could happen, a respected attorney in Eugene named Ken Morrow approached the BPP Headquarters and offered his help as an attorney. With the judge agreeing to set bail at $10,000 per Panther, the money was raised within ten minutes, and Ken Morrow and the Anderson brothers went to City Hall, were arraigned, posted bail, and were back at Headquarters within one hour. He maintained a good relationship with the Panthers despite pressure from anti-Panther people in Eugene.

The Eugene Police continued to harass the BPP Eugene chapter for various reasons, but by 1970, the Eugene chapter had relatively dissolved, with some members moving to other cities to organize with other chapters and others remaining as students at the U of O.

]]>Prison Strike and Solitary Confinementhttps://neighborhoodanarchists.org/prison-strike-and-solitary-confinement/
Sun, 19 Aug 2018 15:54:24 +0000https://neighborhoodanarchists.org/?p=1466At every full collective gathering we acknowledge that we live in a society founded on stolen land and stolen lives. Someone researches and presents a relevant topic and then we take a moment of silence to reflect. We share the research here for others as well. With the nationwide prison […]

]]>At every full collective gathering we acknowledge that we live in a society founded on stolen land and stolen lives. Someone researches and presents a relevant topic and then we take a moment of silence to reflect. We share the research here for others as well.

With the nationwide prison strike swiftly approaching on August 21st, thoughts turn to our incarcerated comrades and the conditions of torment they endure in institutions across the world.

During a work stoppage or slowdown, prisoners face increased risk of persecution by prison officials. Participation in these important protests is considered a high-severity level prohibited act. The federal punishment for these acts is solitary confinement, also called restrictive housing. For participation in a strike, prisoners can be sentenced to up to a year of solitary for each offense. These punishments can be exacerbated by attaching gang status to prisoners participating in organized acts with multiple individuals.

Initially seen as an opportunity to reflect on one’s deeds and deepen a prisoner’s relationship with god, this inhumane and barbarous practice has been increasingly under scrutiny due to evidence of the incredibly harmful psychological impacts on inmates, and it’s seeming lack of long-term efficacy.

This torturous treatment is by no means a punishment reserved for striking prisoners. In the united states, the country that leads the world in numbers of imprisoned individuals, there are as many as 80,000 people in solitary confinement, according to the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker humanitarian organization. This includes children. There is some irony in these statistics being tracked by the AFSC, since it’s believed that Quakers were strong supporters of solitary confinement during it’s early usage in american penitentiaries.

The american psychiatrist Stuart Grassian, in the paper entitled Psychopathological Effects of Solitary Confinement, was able to identify many psychiatric symptoms that were common among inmates subject to this form of isolation torture. The list of symptoms includes perceptual changes (including hallucinations, perceptual distortions, difficulty with thinking, memory and concentration)disturbances of thought content (such as paranoia, or the emergence of aggressive fantasies) problems with impulse control, and self mutilation. These symptoms also were found to quickly subside on termination of the prisoner’s isolation.

This form of torturing prisoners is only one of many techniques used to abuse and degrade people deemed to be a risk to the overall function of the prison machine.

The american prison system exists to strike fear into the population, to manipulate and control individuals, but also largely to make profit through the use of slave labor.

Striking prisoners are taking a huge risk, attacking the very heart of the prison industrial complex. As the strike continues to draw nearer, there is an increased need for actions of solidarity, and to support prisoners directly. No compromise in the abolition of slavery, no compromise in the abolition of prisons.

]]>Indian Residential Schoolshttps://neighborhoodanarchists.org/indian-residential-schools/
Mon, 16 Jul 2018 05:21:36 +0000https://neighborhoodanarchists.org/?p=1352At every full collective gathering we acknowledge that we live in a society founded on stolen land and stolen lives. Someone researches and presents a relevant topic and then we take a moment of silence to reflect. We share the research here for others as well. The american colonial machine […]

]]>At every full collective gathering we acknowledge that we live in a society founded on stolen land and stolen lives. Someone researches and presents a relevant topic and then we take a moment of silence to reflect. We share the research here for others as well.

The american colonial machine seeks the eradication or co-option of any resistance to it’s goals of homogeneity and control. Nowhere has this practice been more apparent or abhorrent than in the late 19th century with the advent of Indian Residential Schools.

These schools, more accurately described as factories of cultural destruction, found their predecessors, in the early missionary schools of the 17th century. Later, education and reform programs for freedmen in the post civil war era, such as those of the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute also known as Hampton University, were another source of inspiration. The residential schools went on to become a network of dozens of government funded assimilation schools, and hundreds of private schools.

Their goal was to disenfranchise, assimilate, and eradicate indigenous cultures and peoples through immersion in european-american culture and the separation of children from their families, language, beliefs and traditions. These schools did their best to erase identities, often forcing people to abandon even their own names. Natives were forced to cut their hair, speak English, dress in western clothing, and were provided with western education and theological instruction to prepare them for the eventual total domination of their land by white settlement. Any sign of their traditional culture and behaviors was forbidden, with often harsh punishments for any infraction.

The practice of re-programming these individuals, though barbaric, was believed by many, including Richard Pratt, an early proponent of Residential Schools, and founder of the flagship Carlisle Indian Industrial School, to be a humanistic and civilized alternative to the popular practices of dealing with indigenous peoples, namely genocide and confinement to reservations. The Carlisle Indian Industrial School was the first off-reservation assimilation model boarding school and therefore the first of a particularly damaging practice, that of separating of children and young people from their communities and heritage. This school was active for almost 40 years, being founded in 1879 and closing in 1918. Many schools based on this model were active until the middle of the 20th century.

During the middle and late 19th century, at odds with white colonial society and nearing the end of an era of centuries long militant conflict with white invaders, tribal peoples were experiencing rapid population decline. They were increasingly systematically disenfranchised and moved to reservations through acts like Jefferson’s Indian Removal Act of 1830, or the Dawes Act of 1887.

The move to provide basic literacy and western education was, during this period, often marketed as a means to protect this increasingly marginalized people. In reality, it was a push to assert the dominance of the white western culture over the supposedly inferior Native societies. This false pretense was used as justification for an attempt at fundamentally destroying a way of life. This can be summed up by the quote from Pratt “Kill the Indian, save the man.” Peoples with strong traditions of militant resistance to colonialism were specifically selected for recruitment to the boarding schools.

These schools were the site of horrible abuse and torment directed at students. Children were subjected to corporal punishment, physical, sexual, and psychological abuse, and were susceptible to a host of deadly infections. Thousands of Native children died far away from their homes and loved ones, and were buried in often nameless graves on the the sites of these institutions. The number of deaths were often inaccurately recorded, probably due to their high numbers.

It is difficult to overstate the effect of these schools on Native societies. Coupled with government programs offering land grants in exchange for the renunciation of tribal treaty rights, the move was to subjugate a people whose traditional way of life did not allow for the same level of control and domination that western society could wield against the individual. Women’s place in Native society, a culture that allowed for women to hold positions of high regard and substantial power, warriors, chiefs and keepers of sacred traditions was to be replaced, by these programs of brainwashing, with the slavery and subordination that colonial american culture reserved for women. The powerful understanding of the land as an un-ownable and communal resource was to be replaced by the enforced selfishness of the private land ownership structure. This served not just to fracture treaty and land rights agreements, but to separate and destroy the bonds of native communities.

Only through the separation and isolation of the individual from their community could western society hope to mold the individual into a unit of production, a cog in the industrial machine. Many of the programs taught at these Native boarding schools were vocational in nature and hoped to prepare Natives to renounce their former freedom in order that they may become productive and dominatable members of western society.

“The whole education process must be recognized as fundamentally different when one passes from white society to Indian society. Education in white society appears to be a creator of communities. It is oriented toward the production of income-producing skills, and the housing, business, entertainment, and recreation sections of white communities reflect this fact. But in the tribal setting, communities are the producers of education. At least they were in the past, and we can make them so today. When communities produce education, the groupings of the community reflect the charisma, wisdom, and activities of the various parts of the community. The respective activities can be viewed in relation to their importance to the community. In that way, the sacredness of the community can be protected and developed.”

-Vine Deloria, Jr.

Though Native peoples suffered through innumerable injustices, and continue to suffer under colonialism, it should be noted that their spirit of insurrection could not and cannot be crushed by even the most vicious of strategies.

“Perhaps the most fundamental conclusion that emerges from boarding school histories is the profound complexity of their historical legacy for Indian people’s lives. The diversity among boarding school students in terms of age, personality, family situation, and cultural background created a range of experiences, attitudes, and responses. Boarding schools embodied both victimization and agency for Native people and they served as sites of both cultural loss and cultural persistence. These institutions, intended to assimilate Native people into mainstream society and eradicate Native cultures, became integral components of American Indian identities and eventually fueled the drive for political and cultural self-determination in the late 20th century.”

-Dr. Julie Davis

Across the globe, from the contemporary revolutionary struggles of tribal people, to armed resistance against early european colonialism, aboriginal struggle stands as a testament to the power of the human spirit. The advancement and domination of the planet and its people by western civilization continues to threaten the foundation of our individual identities, and our individual liberty. This process will not end until the systems of civilization and colonialism are understood, confronted, and destroyed.

]]>Louisiana Colonizationhttps://neighborhoodanarchists.org/louisiana-colonization/
Sun, 20 May 2018 18:34:26 +0000https://neighborhoodanarchists.org/?p=922At every full collective gathering we acknowledge that we live in a society founded on stolen land and stolen lives. Someone researches and presents a relevant topic and then we take a moment of silence to reflect. We share the research here for others as well. The Louisiana Indians are […]

]]>At every full collective gathering we acknowledge that we live in a society founded on stolen land and stolen lives. Someone researches and presents a relevant topic and then we take a moment of silence to reflect. We share the research here for others as well.

The Louisiana Indians are the inheritors of ancient traditions. They consist of Alabama, Koasati (Coushatta), Choctaw (four groups: Jena, Bayou LaCombe, Clifton, and an urban group in East Baton Rouge Parish), Chitimacha, Houma, and Tunica-Biloxi. A mixed Choctaw and Apache group in northwest Louisiana rounds out a complicated cultural picture.

Their native languages have largely been replaced with French, Spanish, and English. The
Creole language is partly native, but was a compromised language for trade with colonizers. However, their cultural practices have mostly survived and are practiced regularly among the native peoples.

In 1519, the first contact with Europeans occurred. It was an expedition led by Alvarez de Pindea. After that event, began the very negative aspects of colonization experienced by all native people of Turtle Island. Some tribes of Louisiana were persuaded to join forces with colonizers and actively raided neighboring tribes to capture and enslave people. The Natchez Wars, the Chickasaw Wars, and the French and Indian Wars all fragmented and destroyed many native lives. The state of Louisiana was actively bought and sold amongst European countries throughout the years without any sort of consent of the native people who had been living there for thousands of years.

The Louisiana Purchase in 1803 was a major turning point for the quality of life of native people in Louisiana. Article VI of the treaty actively dissolved any type of treaties that the French and Spanish had made with the native people. These treaties were not to the benefit of the native people, but at the very least let them have some sort of dignity. The U.S. actively removed these tribes from their homes and forced them into Oklahoma. The native people who declined to be removed, moved into the margins of the state where there was little interest for development/homesteading.

The band of Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw, a Native American tribe living in the Louisiana coastal wetlands (the main marginal community that natives moved to), has lost some 98 percent of its land since the 1950s. The loss of land is the result of soil erosion and rising sea levels. This has resulted in the loss of over 15, 000 acres. The relocation would be subsidized by around $48 million in government funds, said Forbes, and would take a few years to complete.

The current colonization and degradation of the native people’s land is the construction of the final ‘leg’ of the oil pipeline from North Dakota, which was fiercely protested in South Dakota in 2016. There is an active resistance to the pipeline construction that has been using direct action, other forms of protest, and legal means. This fight is still currently developing.

Louisiana law already prohibits trespassing at sites known as “critical infrastructure,” including power plants, oil refineries, chemical plants, water treatment facilities, and natural gas terminals. House Bill 727 adds pipelines and their construction areas to the list of critical infrastructure sites, a move in reaction to growing pipeline protests nationwide.

The company (Energy Transfer Partners) directing this construction has the worst track record for oil spills. Considering the poisonous nature of oil and the fact that over 53% of wetlands have been removed in the U.S., this pipeline is a serious threat to one of the last and largest wetland ecosystems in the so-called U.S. The crawfish is a point of emphasis in the protests and has been a important to the native tribes’ cultural identities. 43% of species on the endangered species list depend on wetland ecosystems which are also important to the cultural identities of the tribes, as these parts of ecosystems always are.

Colonization is continuing to destroy lives and leaving little left of the wild world that is the entirety of any indigenous culture.

]]>HAY!!! Come to our Markethttps://neighborhoodanarchists.org/hay-come-to-our-market/
Thu, 26 Apr 2018 22:32:13 +0000https://neighborhoodanarchists.org/?p=816There are many things one may want to do to celebrate International Workers’ Day this year. Perhaps, you could creatively resist local manifestations of multi-national corporations, join a black bloc, or just let spontaneity decide how you’ll impact the world around you. Who knows? The day awaits. Whatever you do, […]

]]>There are many things one may want to do to celebrate International Workers’ Day this year. Perhaps, you could creatively resist local manifestations of multi-national corporations, join a black bloc, or just let spontaneity decide how you’ll impact the world around you. Who knows? The day awaits. Whatever you do, hopefully you stay nourished, stay safe, and have some fun. We hope the same for all in the working class, especially on this day of solidarity.

This is why, your friendly Neighborhood Anarchist Collective (NAC) in Eugene, OR, along with Carry It Forward and the Communist Labor Party, is throwing it’s monthly, Solidarity Share Fair (A *Really* Free-Market) on May Day in lovely Downtown Eugene at 1166 Oak St. There we shall have free space to stand and work in solidarity with all of the working poor and working homeless, and push an inclusive May Day, one that builds cohesion with all the slaves of capitalism, working, unemployed, and imprisoned.

Since we primarily serve people who are unhoused, the resources we distribute are related to living a life outside. There are never enough good clothes, tents, backpacks, and camping gear. We provide whatever skills and services people are able to share each month! Do you want to contribute your skills? We would love to have gear menders, medical services, general helpers, empathetic people who have emotional connection/support to offer, and/or whatever else you think would be helpful to share! Find more information and sign up to volunteer at: https://neighborhoodanarchists.org/sharefair/.

As always, the monthly Solidarity Share Fair will provide food, music, and other services to alleviate the stresses and strains of capitalism for those most impacted. So, if you find yourself headed down to the market for some fresh veggies, looking for some solidarity after a hard day of work, wanting to help create the space in solidarity, or you have unused resources you know someone else could use, come join us May 1, 2018 from 2:00-6:00pm in Eugene, OR.

]]>A Successful March Share Fair!https://neighborhoodanarchists.org/march-share-fair-2/
Wed, 11 Apr 2018 16:00:04 +0000https://neighborhoodanarchists.org/?p=782With burritos on the grill, soft cello in the background, hanging string lights, and a warm atmosphere, the Neighborhood Anarchist Collective kicked off its second Share Fair in a successful attempt to make this a new monthly recurring event in Eugene. Along with an increase in helping hands from volunteers […]

]]>With burritos on the grill, soft cello in the background, hanging string lights, and a warm atmosphere, the Neighborhood Anarchist Collective kicked off its second Share Fair in a successful attempt to make this a new monthly recurring event in Eugene. Along with an increase in helping hands from volunteers (25 in total!) and donations from the community, the event was able to provide a variety of resources and services for an estimated 160 attendees!

Of course, this wouldn’t be possible without the effort of our volunteers and the contributions from people and organizations around Eugene, including:

The fair was was also able to provide resources that were donated for this event, such as clothes and shoes, tarps, backpacks, camping gear, hygiene products, and a variety of other goods. Thank you to First Christian Church* for allowing us to use their space and thank you to all the folks who made this event possible, and continue to dedicate their time and energy to make this a regular and accessible source of services and resources in Eugene.

Besides helping to make some of these basic necessities more accessible, we also hope to create a safe space for all members of the community, especially those who are generally overlooked, to feel comfortable, warm, and safe with food in their bellies and a chance to get to know each other as neighbors. As we continue to plan for future Share Fairs, we will work to continue cultivating a society where neighbors help each other meet basic needs and all members of the community are valued.

For our next Share Fair, we will be collaborating with different groups around the Eugene/Springfield area to create a special event on May 1st for May Day, or International Worker’s Day! We will updating folks with more details about this event soon on our website and Facebook page, so stay tuned!

If you are interested in partnering with the Neighborhood Anarchist Collective for this or future Share Fairs and would like to make a contribution or volunteer, please email is at resources@neighborhoodanarchists.org to get connected. All help and donations are welcome and greatly appreciated!

*First Christian Church neither endorses nor sponsors the activities of this group.

Pictured: Some of the donations made to the fair, including clothes and camping gear!